


Take Care

by PrincesaPetalito



Category: El Ristorantino de Arnoldo (TV)
Genre: Don't know what to tag on this, M/M, Multi, Set afrer Yo No Fui
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:15:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29601603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincesaPetalito/pseuds/PrincesaPetalito
Summary: Arnoldo was convinced the Ristorantino business should remain in the Family.Fiore has a slightly wider concept of family.That concept incorporates one loyal, skilled, hardworking waiter.
Relationships: Arnoldo & Fiore, Arnoldo/Francis
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	Take Care

**Author's Note:**

> Putting Arnoldo and Fiore to properly talk to each other for once lol

"Uncle Arnoldo, there you are! Francis and I have been looking for you everywhere..... I still can't believe I actually am almost convincing him to come roller skating with me and my friends.You wanna come?" Fiore was nearly breathless as she finished climbing a rock by the shoreline,roller blades in hands while she finally reached her usually hot-tempered Uncle.

She wasn't sure what he was doing all the way over here, thick arms crossed over his soft chest, bare feet in the salty water, the curly-haired teen had to circle all around the lighthouse to spot him at last.

"No,Petalito, thank you but those things are not for me, el Gran Cocinero Arnoldo??? At the top of those tiny wheels??? It's not happening but I appreciate the offer." Arnoldo grinned brightly up at his lovely niece,shaking his head and involuntarily moving his feet in the warm water,not really expecting to be found by anyone while hiding by the rocks,knowing this invite would come and here Fiore was.

This girl is very smart and very promising, it's a shame she hasn't had anyone to teach her the culinary ways of their family, like he had with Nonna.

Up until now.

"Awwww, Uncle,come onnnnnn!!! Francis said he'd only agree to come if you did! And I admit that would be really fun to have on camera....." the small pre-teen with colored hair sat beside her uncle, lightly nudging the older man's shoulder and speaking the last part under her breath.

The overweight, Grand Chef barely moved in place,only doing so to turn his head towards the young girl with an adorably quizzical expression on his handsome,round features."What was that?"

"Nothing, it was nothing,Uncle.... I said.....you should let Francis be in charge of the Ristorantino next time you're gone instead." Fiore tried to cover up, a small, lithe hand trying to pat his shoulder lightly the way she saw the hardworking waiter in question doing several times already yet her mustached, brunet Uncle didn't seem to look that much happier or pleased.

"Perché?! You didn't like being the Boss??? Did Francis or Alina give you too much trouble? Because if Francis-" Arnoldo started involuntarily raising his voice,feet finally off the water, ready to stand up in rage yet his niece tried her hardest to keep the prideful man firmly in place.

"No!!! No, Uncle, not at all,Francis was great,they were _both_ great, they were too good to me, actually...." the curly-haired teen found herself admitting out loud,bowing her head,glancing down at their distorted reflections by the tiny,moving,sunbathed waves.

"Then what's the problem? I need to leave you in charge of things every once in a while if I want you to learn how to be a Grand Chef just like me and take care of the Ristorantino on your own since it will be yours one day!" Arnoldo declared, visibly calming down but still feeling very _sensitive_ and somewhat helpless and lost about the whole ordeal.

He wasn't sure where his niece was trying to get at with this conversation, Fiore's bright brown eyes grew impossibly wide as the stubborn Chef was speaking,realization hitting her hard,she should have said something sooner.

"The Ristorantino..... _what?!_ Uncle, I'm really sorry to tell you this but I don't want this restaurant and I don't want to be a Chef, I just came to this Island on Vacation to go the Beach and-" Fiore confessed almost nonchalantly, she never had a reason to feel afraid of her Uncle,her Dad's older brother before,admitedly she doesn't know the Grand Chef all that well and certainly not as _well_ as someone like Francis does.

Speaking of the charming waiter with beautiful olive green eyes,the slender young teen desperately wishes right this moment that she could safely reach into her pocket to grab her phone and text him to ask how to make their Boss stop looking like his entire body is fire burning from within with immeasurable rage and fury before he bursts into blazing flames right in front of her.

Arnoldo was ready to yell and make a huge scene,his trembling hands already clawing air and smashing it into invisible pieces yet he bit back whatever he just had in mind,the mustached, Italian man had promised Rocco he would treat his brother's daughter nicely and teach her anything he possibly could in the few months she would be staying here.

Which had made the overweight, stubborn man ecstastic at the time since only Francis has been his apprentice for the past 10 or so years and Arnoldo was quickly running out of ideas on how to stall teaching the loyal, talented waiter everything he knows in case the boy finally decides he had enough of the Italian Chef,so the older man took a deep breath, resorting to gripping the hard surface beside him with all his might and speaking.

".... You can't possibly mean that, Petalito,you're deeply hurting me,take that back right this instant! How can you possibly _not_ want to be a Chef and _not_ want the Ristorantino?!?! You've got so much to learn from me! You don't like spending time with your Uncle???" Arnoldo's husky voice resembled relative calmness and tranquility yet his dark jade black eyes remained ablaze,if he had claws they would have left a permanent mark on the rocks for sure. 

Fiore swallowed dry,biting her lip as slight guilt started to settle in,she doesn't really look at people that close in real life often enough to know how to read them well but Arnoldo always wearing his feelings on his sleeve,him realizing that or not,ends up helping a lot.

Because his voice sounded calm, only getting somewhat strained by the end while his round face was still tight with unshed anger and his eyes.......

Had tears welling up around the corners,fogging up his vision,it gave Fiore this momentary big urge to hug him and take everything back (perhaps now she understands Francis a little better?)

She never meant to break Arnoldo's heart or ruin his big plans for her.

But she also can't force herself to follow a career she doesn't want to just to make someone else happy, doesn't matter who it is.

"I.....do, I love spending time with you... and the others,I just don't want to be a Chef and..... I _don't_ want the Ristorantino.Not to mention it wouldn't _feel_ right." Fiore elaborated her thoughts,her hands fidgeting nervously, itching to grab on to something,feeling like she didn't deserve all this extra attention she has been receiving.

The slim girl with dyed, curly hair could _swear_ her mustached,short-tempered Uncle always intended to leave the Ristorantino to Francis instead anyway, Arnoldo never talked to her about it and she's usually on her phone a lot but she is neither blind, deaf or stupid,the kind, aspiring magician and the stubborn Grand Chef definitely have something going on besides professional partnership and from what Alina told her,it's something very _very_ serious and stable.

"Why not??? You're family!!!" Arnoldo banged his fists on the rocks,trying his best not to let it show how much it really hurt him, the wet, hard surface _and_ her confession of not wanting to follow the family's footsteps.

"There’s someone else who's _closer_ to you than family,a person who's kind,responsible,works really hard and if there's anyone who deserves to keep the restaurant after you're gone,it's them and only them." Fiore lightly patted the older man's thick arm,winking knowingly and offering her now rather confused Uncle a sly smirk as she picked up her skates and stood up.

".... Who?"

"You know _exactly_ who."

* * *

"Arnoldo!!!! I can't believe you actually _agreed_ to come with us!!!! I need to confess, sir, when Fiore told me, I refused to believe it.Here, let me help you with that." Francis' entire face brightened up as he spotted his beloved Boss sitting by a bench alone, having slight (a lot of) difficulty reaching his feet to tie the laces on his skates.

It was amusing Fiore to no end,Alina sympathized,the curly-haired assistant only grinned cheekily to himself,shaking his head then a full on, beautiful gap-toothed smile adorned his thin lips as he sped up towards the struggling Grand Chef.

"Gracias Francis,siempre tan amable..... Mira, tengo algo que decir a usted." Arnoldo declared in a very carefully serious manner, almost whispering the words as the aspiring magician carefully fell into one knee in front of the prideful brunet man.

Glancing up innocently at his overweight,handsome Italian Boss,not exactly devoting his full attention just yet as he focused on the task at hand, Francis couldn't wait to see his Grand Chef and partner of many years even so much as attempt to stand up on these things.

But the skilled, raven-haired apprentice wasn't expecting to be caught off guard the way he was just about to be.

"What is it, Arnoldo?" Francis questioned when he realized the older man didn't mean to elaborate as the talented assistant helped his prideful Chef stand up with the skates with great effort and a huge lack of balance.

"I want _you_ to take care of the Ristorantino when I die."

Francis lost the balance completely,accidentally letting go of Arnoldo altogether,leading to the _sensitive_ Chef tumbling all the way to the ground.

Foolish of him to think the two of them would have a fun evening out together for once. 


End file.
